One animal\, one hour\, up close. October's first Creature Connection is built around the Discovery Center's chinchilla and how foraging works — which mostly means watching an extremely soft rodent solve puzzles for food.
\nWhen: Thursday\, October 8\, 2026\, 3 to 4 p.m.
\nWhere: Discovery Center at Murfree Spring\, Murfreesboro
\nCost: $5 per student\, $5 per chaperone
October's first SPARK! session takes on wind and moving air — the kind of topic that turns into a lot of things flying across a room\, which is the point. Aimed at preschool and early elementary.
\nWhen: Monday\, October 12\, 2026\, 9 to 11 a.m.
\nWhere: Discovery Center at Murfree Spring\, Murfreesboro
Register online in advance where possible.
URL:https://murfreesboro.com/event/discovery-center-spark-windy-wonders-2026/ CATEGORIES:Family Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261015T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261015T200000 DTSTAMP:20260810T230258Z CREATED:20260810T230103Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260810T230258Z UID:10041320-1792087200-1792094400@murfreesboro.com SUMMARY:All Access Night: Fall on the Farm DESCRIPTION:The Discovery Center's All Access Night opens the museum for an evening with a fall farm theme. These evenings are deliberately quieter and less crowded than a Saturday afternoon\, which makes a real difference for kids who find the usual noise level hard going.
\nWhen: Thursday\, October 15\, 2026\, 6 to 8 p.m.
\nWhere: Discovery Center at Murfree Spring\, Murfreesboro
Worth registering ahead — evening programs here tend to cap attendance.
URL:https://murfreesboro.com/event/discovery-center-all-access-night-fall-farm-2026/ CATEGORIES:Family Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261016T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261016T210000 DTSTAMP:20260810T213801Z CREATED:20260810T213649Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260810T213801Z UID:10041314-1792173600-1792184400@murfreesboro.com SUMMARY:Cannonsburgh Village After Dark – Friday DESCRIPTION:Cannonsburgh Village is a good afternoon any time of year. After dark in October it is something else entirely. Bring a flashlight\, work through the hunt in the dark corners of the log cabins\, and stop for hot drinks and sweet treats between the fall crafts\, games and music. Costumes are welcome.
\nWhen: Friday\, October 16\, 2026\, 6 to 9 p.m.
\nWhere: Cannonsburgh Pioneer Village\, Murfreesboro
\nCost: $5 per person\, free for ages 5 and under. Tickets online in advance or at the gate.
This is a flashlight-hunt event\, not a haunted attraction — it plays well for elementary-age kids and younger.
URL:https://murfreesboro.com/event/cannonsburgh-village-after-dark-friday-2026/ CATEGORIES:Family Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261017T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261017T130000 DTSTAMP:20260810T213811Z CREATED:20260810T213710Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260810T213811Z UID:10041316-1792227600-1792242000@murfreesboro.com SUMMARY:Tennessee STEAM Festival at Murfreesboro Airport DESCRIPTION:Murfreesboro Municipal Airport hosts its Tennessee STEAM Festival morning alongside the Discovery Center\, and the pitch is simple: a field full of aircraft and emergency vehicles\, with exhibitors letting families climb in and put hands on the controls.
\nWhen: Saturday\, October 17\, 2026\, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
\nWhere: Murfreesboro Municipal Airport (MBT)
On display: an AH-64E Apache from the 101st Airborne\, a UH-60 Blackhawk from the Tennessee Army National Guard\, a Vanderbilt LifeFlight helicopter\, member-owned experimental aircraft\, jet and piston engines\, and Murfreesboro Police and Fire and Rescue vehicles. The Experimental Aircraft Association chapter runs a how-airplanes-fly station and flight simulators\, and MTSU brings its DA-40 along with its aircraft maintenance lab and drone operations.
\nScience\, technology\, engineering\, art and math\, delivered in the form your kid actually wants it: sitting in a helicopter.
URL:https://murfreesboro.com/event/murfreesboro-airport-steam-festival-2026/ CATEGORIES:Family Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261017T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261017T210000 DTSTAMP:20260810T213807Z CREATED:20260810T213701Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260810T213807Z UID:10041315-1792260000-1792270800@murfreesboro.com SUMMARY:Cannonsburgh Village After Dark – Saturday DESCRIPTION:The Saturday night run of Cannonsburgh's after-hours event. Same setup as Friday — flashlights\, a hunt through the dark corners of the log cabins\, fall crafts and games\, music\, and something warm to drink — with the advantage that nobody has school the next morning.
\nWhen: Saturday\, October 17\, 2026\, 6 to 9 p.m.
\nWhere: Cannonsburgh Pioneer Village\, Murfreesboro
\nCost: $5 per person\, free for ages 5 and under. Tickets online in advance or at the gate.
Costumes welcome. It is a flashlight hunt\, not a haunted house — gentle enough for younger kids.
URL:https://murfreesboro.com/event/cannonsburgh-village-after-dark-saturday-2026/ CATEGORIES:Family Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261022T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261022T160000 DTSTAMP:20260810T230331Z CREATED:20260810T230141Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260810T230331Z UID:10041325-1792681200-1792684800@murfreesboro.com SUMMARY:Creature Connection: Tarantula Web Making DESCRIPTION:The Discovery Center's Creature Connection sessions put one animal at the center of an hour\, and late October belongs to the tarantula. It is a genuinely good way to take the scary edge off spiders for a kid who has decided they are terrifying.
\nWhen: Thursday\, October 22\, 2026\, 3 to 4 p.m.
\nWhere: Discovery Center at Murfree Spring\, Murfreesboro
\nCost: $5 per student\, $5 per chaperone
SPARK! is the Discovery Center's Monday-morning program for the preschool and early-elementary crowd — two hours of hands-on science on a single theme\, in a building that is otherwise quiet. October's pumpkin edition is exactly what it sounds like\, and exactly as messy as you would hope.
\nWhen: Monday\, October 26\, 2026\, 9 to 11 a.m.
\nWhere: Discovery Center at Murfree Spring\, Murfreesboro
Registering online in advance is strongly encouraged. Dress everyone for mess.
URL:https://murfreesboro.com/event/discovery-center-spark-great-pumpkin-2026/ CATEGORIES:Family Events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261030T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261030T180000 DTSTAMP:20260810T230237Z CREATED:20260810T230039Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260810T230237Z UID:10041317-1793372400-1793383200@murfreesboro.com SUMMARY:Trick or Treat Around the Historic Rutherford County Square DESCRIPTION:Downtown Murfreesboro turns the Public Square into a trick-or-treat loop the afternoon before Halloween. For families with small kids it is arguably better than the neighborhood version: it happens in daylight\, the sidewalks are flat and continuous\, and there is not a driveway or dark yard in sight.
\nWhen: Friday\, October 30\, 2026\, from 3 p.m.
\nWhere: Public Square\, Murfreesboro
Costumes expected. Go early — the square gets shoulder to shoulder as the afternoon wears on.
URL:https://murfreesboro.com/event/trick-or-treat-rutherford-county-square-2026/ CATEGORIES:Family Events END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR